The Haven isn't like other buildings. In fact, it doesn't look like a building at all. That's mainly due to one fact: the only part of it above ground is the entrance. We were falling over each other, fighting tooth and nail, just to reach the doorway.
Well, if we're this eager to get there, it's gotta be something, right?
Right with a capital R-I-G-H-T.
Ashton emerged from the writhing knot of bodies shrieking with joy, holding his knife (don't ask me how he got it, we try to confiscate everything he could use dangerously. Obviously we occasionally fail.) high overhead and running to the trapdoor.
Behind him, Thorne let out a yowl and tackled him. I'll translate what she just said from her dialect to ours:
"OH NO YOU DI'INT!"
Jesse took their little squabble as an opportunity to scuttle to the trapdoor. However, I was still watching and interfered.
I ran in front of him, practically flying, and crashed through the trapdoor before anyone could stop me, be they shrieking, yowling, or sneaking. I let out an almost feral "Whoo-whoot!" and blew a fierce raspberry upward.
That is, until Jesse landed on top of me, making us fall faster.
"Smooth, Jess. Real smooth." I groaned, adding another "OOPH!" as Ashton dropped onto the teen-pile. and then a little shriek as Thorne tackled him.
Again.
Carefully , I twisted so I was falling face first, not back first, and straightened out my body, so that I was feet first. This made the others quickly follow suit. We were the always cool, collected, and in control Dreamkeepers; if we came into the Front Foyer screaming and clawing at each other and swearing in a giant heap, things would not be good for us. At all.
So, with all the grace in the world, we dropped through the other side and landed on our feet, and into a fog of streamers, confetti, and seasoned officers celebrating our best run yet. I shook my head violently, freeing at least three golden streamers and a whole puffload of silver confetti. Jesse laughed and ruffled my hair (sending up a cloud of glitter) and then shot a glare towards a cluster of boys who were maybe a touch younger than us who were giving me dreamy looks.
"If one more person says you're hot, I will freaking dismember them."
"And why is that?" I really was curious. It wasn't like Jess and I were anything more than partners, friends. He blushed, fumbling with his words.
"Uh-er-because it's a rude and vulgar thing to do...?" he sputtered out. I rolled my eyes.
"We really should be watching out for Thorne. She's the one who has at least six fanclubs completely devoted to her." I said, drifting closer to her. Jesse shrugged.
"And she's also the one who constantly has at least three guns and two knives on her person, and sleeps with a gun, baseball bat, and sock full of rock hard ground meat under her pillow and mattress." he continued.
"No, not entirely." I said. Jesse cocked an eyebrow.
"It's a sock full of melted and rehardened lipstick. Duh." I corrected. Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Feels the same." he said, wincing at his painful memories.
"You know I can hear every word of what you're saying, right?" Thorne said through a dazzling smile. "And for the record, it's seven." We both glared at her as best we could through seemingly excited and happy faces.
Meanwhile, Ashton was sliding on his knees to the elevator, managing a good ten feet before having to resort to wiggling forward on his knees the remaining two. He twisted his head over his shoulder and then jerked it forward, beckoning us to the elevator.
Thorne winked at a particularly attractive fan (I nearly gagged) and slipped inside, Ashton gave a "whoo-whoot!" and slid in (Jess winced at how bad that must be on the knees), Jesse ducked in (I snickered because he was literally ducking because he was just that tall), and I hopped in casually, no flourishes or tricks except a quick bow just before the elevator doors closed (Jesse rolled his eyes).
As soon as the elevator gave a happy ding!, signaling its closing, each of us slumped to the floor. We all had reason. Ash had been climbing trees all night in search of a good launch point (he refused to call it by any other name); Thorne had to be insanely sore- maneuvering a heavy rod that was as long as she was tall with her bare hands did come with a toll.
Jesse had basically been running half the night, as Nightmares were psychadelically fast and he was the most stubborn of all of us to kick some Nightmare butt. And me? I did all the tumbling, rolling, dodging, leaping, twisting, and overall most complex moves. While carrying a three foot long sword. So, overall, if we didn't revamp our systems ASAP, there were going to be dire consequences.
Like having four, hungry, aching, sleepy, violent as all heck teenagers. Trust me, you do not want to see that sight.
So with aching muscles and heavy eyelids, we exited the elevator on the top floor, into the full floor penthouse that served as our home, and headed straight to the fridge.
For in the fridge there were (cue singing angels) energy drinks. And food, oh, the food! And so much caffeine it made my eyes tear up with joy.
You really can't blame us for wreaking havoc on the kitchen. You can't blame Ash for giving a battle cry and promptly collecting every single cookie from the pantry, or Thorne for chugging down a liter of Coke straight from the bottle. Or Jesse, for completely depleting our supply of pizza.
Or me, for totally and absolutely draining each and every last one of our high power energy drinks, then challenging Jesse to a wrestling match (which ended in a deadlock).
Really, you can't blame us for being four insanely hungry, almost rabid, teenagers.
Who aren't allowed to sleep at night, when everyone else was.
Because of course, that was when we did our jobs, as professional guardians of the sleeping.
